"This power!"
Urashiki stared at the vibration rolling off Namikaze Kirito, his expression turning almost feverish—like he'd just discovered a new kind of energy.
If someone ate the fruit of the Divine Tree… would they awaken this kind of ability?
If he brought this back to the Ōtsutsuki, he wouldn't just "get attention." He'd rise straight into the inner circle. High status, authority—everything.
The thought made his blood run hot. He looked at Kirito like a starving man looking at food.
"…You bastard."
Kirito could practically read the greed in his eyes, and he almost laughed.
So that's how it is.
They were the same.
Both wanted to devour the other.
Fine.
He was at a limit anyway. A fight against a true Six Paths–level existence was exactly what he needed to find out where he stood.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
Urashiki had a Rinnegan—he could absorb ninjutsu. But Wood Style wasn't something you could just casually swallow and walk away from.
Rooooar—!
The ground heaved as a massive wooden dragon surged out, coiling and lunging toward Urashiki, jaws opening like it meant to rip him in half.
Urashiki's blue Rinnegan… shifted.
The pattern sharpened, the color deepened—then a crimson glare flickered through it.
He raised one hand.
A blue sphere formed in his palm.
Shooom—!
Countless blue beams exploded outward like arrows, slamming into the Wood Dragon in a brutal volley.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
The forest shook.
Sawdust and splinters sprayed into the air as the dragon's body cracked and flaked, but it still forced itself forward, stubbornly pushing through the barrage.
Urashiki's expression turned icy.
"A mindless beast… wants to act ferocious?"
The blue sphere in his hand flared brighter.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
The beams multiplied, pounding the Wood Dragon until even Wood Style couldn't endure it anymore.
The dragon threw its head back, jaws wide like it was roaring at the sky—
Then it shattered.
Wood fragments rained down like a storm.
And through the smoke—
Kirito appeared.
He was already beside Urashiki.
Urashiki didn't panic.
"I knew you'd come."
No one escaped the eyes of his Rinnegan.
"Yomotsu Hirasaka!"
A black void opened behind him.
His body sank into it like water—
And vanished.
Kirito's gaze snapped around, searching—
And the space behind him twisted.
A dark slit peeled open.
Urashiki reappeared mid-motion, fishing rod raised, striking for the back of Kirito's head.
CLANG!
The blow was stopped by a blackened arm.
Kirito turned his head slightly.
Urashiki's eyes widened—genuine shock flashing across his face.
He couldn't understand it.
How did he react that fast?
Urashiki had no idea Kirito possessed Observation Haki. Even if he couldn't pinpoint the exact moment Hirasaka would open, the instant Urashiki "arrived," Kirito would sense him.
Not perfect yet.
But once his Observation Haki evolved further… once it could truly glimpse the future—
Space–time ninjutsu wouldn't mean a damn thing.
Sneaking Kirito would become the most impossible thing in the world.
"Dark Vortex."
Kirito extended his hand.
A black vortex opened in his palm.
Urashiki's body jerked—like an invisible force grabbed him by the ribs.
His control vanished.
He was dragged forward, straight into Kirito's reach.
BOOM!
Kirito's right hand clamped down on Urashiki's arm like a steel trap.
"Caught you."
"…What—?!"
Urashiki tried to trigger his escape again—
But something in his body turned heavy and dull, like his chakra pathways were suddenly wrapped in chains.
For a brief instant—
He couldn't use it.
Kirito didn't waste that instant.
His fist drove forward.
BOOM!
The punch smashed into Urashiki's face with a trembling force behind it—so violent it blasted the nearby grass, flowers, and loose branches outward like a shockwave.
Urashiki's face split, blood spraying.
On top of that—the hard horn-like protrusion on his head cracked and shattered, exposing his forehead.
His expression twisted with pure humiliation and rage.
"Damn it…! You… ant—!"
The suffocating feeling vanished.
And the moment it did—
Urashiki exploded into countless paper cranes and scattered away, disappearing from Kirito's grasp.
Kirito stared at his hand, eyes narrowing.
So it worked.
The Dark Fruit could seal chakra and abilities—instantly.
But only for a brief moment.
In a fight between monsters, a brief moment was more than enough to decide life and death.
Still…
The Ōtsutsuki were cockroaches when it came to vitality.
One clean opening wasn't enough to end it.
If Kirito wanted to take the Rinnegan and whatever else Urashiki carried…
Then Urashiki would have to be crushed so completely he couldn't resist at all.
Only then would the "capture" truly succeed.
"…Is this what Six Paths–class means?"
Kirito murmured.
Once someone reached that level, their body was no longer operating on the same "layer" as normal shinobi.
A higher dimension.
A higher grade of existence.
Against that, the Dark Fruit wasn't invincible anymore—not unless Kirito's power was overwhelming enough to crush the gap entirely.
Not far away, Urashiki landed at a distance, breathing hard, eyes locked on Kirito like he was staring at a monster.
He finally understood what that "dullness" was.
Sealing.
Absorption.
Suppression.
Abilities that felt like Rinnegan territory.
So why… were they coming from a mere mortal?
His mind raced.
One thought cut through everything else:
I can't let him get close again.
If I take a few more of those tremor punches…
Even my body won't hold.
Off to the side, Uzumaki Boruto was practically bouncing in place, grinning like he'd won the fight himself.
"Yes! Uncle Kirito's winning!"
Young Sasuke watched with a different expression... tense, but filled with respect.
He didn't know what the future held. He didn't know why someone this strong could ever vanish from Konoha's history.
But he believed one thing without hesitation:
No matter what came, it wouldn't be enough to stop his leader.
That was the belief he'd carved into himself.
Urashiki's gaze sharpened.
He reached into his space and tossed out a black box.
Sasuke's eyes widened instantly.
"Leader—be careful!"
This wasn't like before.
He'd been to the moon. He'd witnessed power beyond shinobi logic.
And he knew Ton… no, he knew the kind of being that had once been sealed by something like this.
Kirito's eyes narrowed.
"…Too late again."
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